I have shown for years that the Pennsylvania State Inspection system has an ulterior motive: Dealer Fraud. Dealer admit under oath all the time that State Inspections are a real profit center for them. They can sell a heck of lot of brakes, tires, oil changes, etc.
Unfortunately, Pennsylvania State Inspection are antiquated and entirely inadequate to catch and eliminate truly dangerous vehicles. First, dealers know that you are not going to pay for a necessary $5,000.00 repair to the unibody/frame/structure. Second, dealer know that you are not going to pay for the $100.00-$300.00 repairs (brakes, tires, etc.) if your vehicle is not going to pass inspection due to a damaged unibody/frame/structure.
Trib Total Medial recently reported that “Pennsylvanians spend more than $600 million a year on mandated annual vehicle safety checks – one of 12 states requiring such. Mechanics look for indicators of problems with brakes, tires, suspensions and more.” http://triblive.com/news/allegheny/6805581-74/inspections-cars-safety#axzz3j5OaipNW
The same article reported that “According to 2012 data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Pennsylvania ranked 30th in vehicle fatality rates, with 10.26 fatalities per 100,000 people, just better than the national average of 10.69. Pennsylvania’s fatality rate is higher than neighboring states without mandatory inspections: New Jersey had 6.64 fatalities per 100,000 people, and Ohio had 9.73 fatalities per 100,000 people.”
The same article reported that “‘Many regulations were written for cars from the 1970s,’ said Joseph Henmueller, president of the Automotive Maintenance and Repair Association. ‘There are literally billions of dollars in unperformed vehicle repairs on the roads. The bottom line is that people are not maintaining their vehicles properly,’ Henmueller said, acknowledging that the association has a vested interest. ‘It’s a very good thing for any state to have a robust safety inspection,’ he said. ‘The problem is that … the programs are antiquated and inadequate. So even the states that have inspections are giving a false sense of security. It’s more of a tax revenue-generator.’
If you find out that you purchased a vehicle that was misrepresented or sold in an unfit condition, or were otherwise the victim of Dealer Fraud, you should contact a qualified attorney right away.